Chapter 581: Time-Sense
There were actually quite a number of people like Li Shunsheng, who chose to seclude themselves in some corner of the Moon for cultivation.
As their power gradually increased, they often felt a sense of being estranged from the world, out of place in a society made up of ordinary people. They felt that others were either jealous of them or afraid of them, no longer seeing them as peers. The two had ceased to exist on the same level.
Moreover, since they didn't lack money, some cultivators, who were already introverted by nature, would imitate the reclusive hermits of legend and begin their own isolated lives.
Of course, most people who did this were merely physically reclusive; mentally, they hadn't detached from the world. They still went online and used their phones. It was just that their residences were generally deserted. Aside from that, there wasn't much difference from the "otaku" of a few decades ago.
......
"The Dao Yuan Era... the Rainbow Bridge... the Moon God... A lot of major events really did happen in the ten years I spent in seclusion." Li Shunsheng strode rapidly towards the Rainbow Bridge, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.
......
"Warning, SP-005 has awakened and exhibits suspected Six-Tier Spirit Energy reactions. All council members, please take note." Just as the joint council was vexed by the inexplicable appearance of the Rainbow Bridge in the sky, an alarm blared, adding another layer of surprise.
"SP-005, Li Shunsheng? He successfully broke through?" Anduoluo, the Minister of Intelligence in charge of special person records, immediately recalled the person represented by that code from his almost photographic memory.
Although everyone had their own aspirations, not everyone would accept the Federation government's recruitment. Nevertheless, the Intelligence Department had a specialized agency dedicated to tracking the specific situations of these unstable factors, who were like humanoid natural disasters.
"His ability is time-sense manipulation, quite unsolvable in a one-on-one fight. Now that he's advanced to the Six-Tier, his number will probably rise to SP-003..."
Anduoluo, like a living Bai Xiao Sheng, quietly explained Li Shunsheng's situation to the ordinary council members beside him.
"Time-sense manipulation, is that distorting the opponent's perception of time, making them mentally believe only a moment has passed, when in reality over a minute has elapsed outside?"
"According to intelligence records, yes."
"In a solo fight, a momentary lapse in concentration is enough to decide victory or defeat, let alone being disconnected for an entire minute. Killing opponents beyond one's rank would be no problem."
"If a monster like this is only ranked SP-005... then what kind of fiends are ahead of him?"
"It's SP-003 now, sir," Anduoluo corrected him.
The SP series rankings were maintained by the Intelligence Department. As the Minister of Intelligence, he naturally had the authority to proactively change rankings based on his own assessment.
"His ability can be countered by clone tactics. As long as multiple clones simultaneously fight SP-003, the disruption of time-sense can be nullified by mutual calibration between the different clones.
However, there's a problem here: the opponent can only fight using projected clones. If the main body enters the fray and is directly interfered with, the time-sense of all clones will be affected."
"And defeating a Dharma Body realm martial artist with just projections... perhaps only those few individuals could accomplish that."
......
"Is it possible?" Li Shunsheng's special ability reignited Ramdo's passion for revenge, which he had long been forced to bury deep.
He had never forgotten the apple tree that had cast him from heaven into hell, nor the mastermind behind it all.
"Buddy, don't overthink it, unless you think he's cultivated himself into a fool." A friend beside him lightly patted Ramdo's shoulder.
Referencing the Spirit Energy Network system that once covered the Huaxia Federation, a similar, larger, and improved network had been deployed on the Moon.
This system, named the Last Line of Defense, could temporarily grant a Six-Tier transcendent at its core a power level estimated to be high-level Seventh-Tier, roughly 7-7.
However, this power could only be maintained for three days. After three days, the temporarily enhanced person would die due to severe physical overload.
Therefore, no one was willing to activate this thing unless the nation faced annihilation.
Ramdo's idea was precisely to temporarily elevate Li Shunsheng to the Seventh-Tier, then use his ability to temporarily distort Bai Mo's time-sense. After that, everyone would swarm him, launching an attack while Bai Mo was caught in time-stasis.
When they first heard about Li Shunsheng's ability, many people had entertained this thought, but quickly dismissed it.
The more reclusive they were, the more indifferent they were to such matters. Grand pronouncements were useless, let alone trying to trick them into a suicide mission.
......
Outside the Star Core Grinding Disc, wisps of "innate" Spirit Qi seeped out, guided by the Feng Shui array into the bodies of Dong Fang Sa and the other eight.
Every cell in their bodies was joyfully leaping, and a wonderful illusion of complete metamorphosis engulfed the eight young people forming the array's core. They quickly became immersed, unable to extricate themselves.
Only Dong Fang Sa, whose cultivation realm was far superior to the others, maintained clarity of thought. He coldly observed the position of the Star Core Grinding Disc, a sense of alarm secretly rising within him.
While still ostensibly presiding over the array, he could also sense subtle, ineffable changes occurring within his body. The limit that had stubbornly held him back seemed to be loosening, little by little.
"The Rainbow Bridge is actively being pulverized by the grand array. The Spirit Qi we're receiving now is all gained from 'demolishing the bridge.'" Dong Fang Sa quickly noticed this.
"He sharpened the knife meant to kill himself, then, slice by slice, carved off his own flesh... So what am I, the knife salesman?"
Dong Fang Sa completely failed to understand what Bai Mo intended, but the "Tang Monk's flesh" continuously emerging from the Star Core Grinding Disc was an irresistible temptation.
He had schemed endlessly, seeking nothing more than everything he now possessed. So, even though he knew something was amiss, his body remained incredibly honest, absorbing it without any resistance.
"Those guys..."
Because they completely lacked knowledge of how to circulate and refine the Spirit Qi once it entered their bodies, the eight young people forming the array's core soon began to exhibit a crystallization phenomenon.
Initially, their eyebrows and hair, as if frosted, transformed into silver threads one by one. This was swiftly followed by the crystallization of their skin, as a thin "shell" gradually formed on their bodies.
......
"Kill! Die for me!" Although their physical bodies were continuously crystallizing, within each young person's spiritual world, their true battles had begun.
They didn't know why, but one second they were painstakingly enduring within the array, and the next they inexplicably appeared in this spiritual world, having also received a crucial piece of information...
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